Best I Ever Had
by DaBiscuit
Summary: Sometimes the truth is told under the oddest of circumstances. ZukoMai


"Go see him."

"Don't go see him."

"Go see him."

"Don't go see him."

"Go see him."

Mai sat on her bed, holding the rose from the centerpiece on her nightstand between her thin fingers. Using her long fingernails, she carefully plucked each petal from the flower, repeating the words over and over before letting them fall to the ground soundlessly.

Just three days before, Princess Azula, Tai-Lee, and Mai had successfully captured Prince Zuko. General Iroh had not been with him.

For three days, Prince Zuko had been chained in the prison hold, being fed the rations of a peasant and tortured for his knowledge of the Avatar. The Fire Lord had officially stripped Zuko of his title, his throne, and whatever dignity he had left, so royal treatment like Azula and her "posse" were receiving did not apply to him.

For three days, Mai had struggled with her emotions, her feeling of betrayal in her heart when Azula would mention Zuko's name, the feeling of pain when the soldiers reported that he had yet to give any information. How she wanted to go see him, to tell him that she still cared for him, that she still saw him as a Prince. But if she did go, would he simply lash out at her, angry that it was indeed her daggers that had kept him from escaping? Or would he ignore her, pretending that she did not even exist.

Mai was not sure if she could handle him imagining her away. For years, she'd kept a low profile on her emotions, always acting as though nothing caught her interest, nothing excited her, and nothing struck fear into her. How was it then that the first time she'd met him, all of those feelings and more had rained down upon her. Zuko was her one touch with reality. The one thing that kept her human.

And to watch him be locked away, handed over to the Fire Lord to be executed without a chance to fight, was more than she could bare. She could never watch her Prince be tried, without the light in his eye, the power in his voice. She could never watch him be like her.

"Go see him."

"Don't go see him."

It dawned on her that only a few petals remained. What would she do when the rose made its final decision?

"Go see him."

"Don't go see him."

She forced herself not to look ahead, to see what the outcome would be. Fate was fate.

She gripped the next to the last petal, pulling it off slowly.

"Don't go see him."

Warmth spread through her as she stared at that last remaining pedal,

"Go see him."

* * *

The hallways of the grand vessel of the Firenation naval fleet was polluted with guards, but luckily for Mai, not of them dare stop her. Making her way to the prison hold was easy, though the maze of passages did confuse her at times. She wished she'd kept her head up while she had followed the procession of guards taking Zuko in there after they'd captured him.

The prison door. She recognized it immediately. The thick, sleek iron door blocking any bit of light from the room. Mai easily opened it and slipped in, using her senses to guide her through the dark.

She remembered vividly that, even though no other prisoners were present on the ship, Princess Azula had demanded that Zuko be put in the very last cell. Carefully she glided soundlessly to the end of the row, stopping at the beginning of his cell to look in.

The interior of the cell was pitch black, making it impossible for Mai to see Zuko. She swallowed hard, regretting it as soon as she felt the liquid slip down her throat.

"Who's there." his voice caused her heart to constrict in her chest as an odd feeling radiated through her. It sounded lost, hurt, and most of all, burdened.

"It's me." she calmly said, struggling to keep the emotion out of her voice.

"Go away."

Mai bit her bottom lip in the darkness.

"I don't want to hurt you. I need to talk to you."

She heard him scoff from behind the bars, heard him try to move. A loud hiss escaped his clenched teeth as a sore wrist clanked against a metal shackle.

Mai, knowing that he was to hurt to possibly fight her, stood up and using one of her many daggers, picked the lock on his door and opened it, finding the first few steps into it incredibly difficult. She felt the air in the room intensify as the tension grew.

She could just make out his form in the darkness now. Back against the back wall, head bent forward, and both legs jammed into his chest.

As gently as she could she sat down at the end of his feet, taking care to remain a out of his line of fire, just incase he some how figured out a way to use his firebending.

The solemn pair sat in forced silence for a long while, each trying to figure out the others thoughts. Mai could only imagine was Zuko was possibly thinking of now...

"Can I see you?" she asked gently.

"Can you?" he growled back.

She shook her head in the darkness and rose, finding the oil lantern placed high on the wall, and using one of her match sticks, lit it and adjusted the wick, causing the fire to burn high and strong.

Mai turned to sit back beside him but stopped.

Zuko's whole face was covered in cuts and bruises. His exposed arms were mangled, dried blood stained his shirt and pants. His eyes were dull, his scar prominent.

"Zuko..." she whispered, kneeling down slowly beside him. He jerked his head away from her, and her heart stopped.

"What did they do to you?" she choked, fighting the emotion welling up in her throat. He snorted, causing a thin puff of smoke to rise in the air.

"I'm not easy to break."

She nodded, agreeing with his words before going to rise, stopping when his head turned back to her, his eyes blank.

"Where are you going?"

"To get some bandages. You can't stay like that."

"No."

"What?" she replied bemused, her mouth coming open.

"I don't want bandaged. Let them be."

She honored his wishes and sat back down, folding her hands uncomfortably on her lap.

"Why did you come here?" he finally said, focusing on the wall instead of her face. She thought for a moment before answering.

"Fate told me to."

He smirked slightly. "I never thought you believed in fate."

She shrugged, feeling a small amount of weight lift off of her shoulders at the fact that Zuko was actually talking to her.

"Neither did I."

"But Zuko, I really wanted to talk to you about something..."

He listened intently, his eyes trying desperately to meet hers, but she kept her head downcast, her hands moving nervously.

"When we were little, I always thought, well, like when we both feel in the fountain, or when you sat by me at that show, well..."

"Just say it." he cut in sharply, his eyes now desperate for her answer.

Without thinking Mai jumped up from her sitting position and pressed her lips onto Zuko's, who was so stunned by the action that he nearly toppled over. But almost as immediately as she had done it, she pulled back, a blush forming on her pale cheeks.

"I like you. A lot."

Zuko sat there, mouth open, face contorted in confusion. Mai pushed her head down on her chest, regretting immediately her blunt actions.

"I never knew..." he began, but she shushed him, scooting so she sat near to him.

"I'm sorry." she said quietly, looking at him with more emotion than she had in years.

"I forgive you." he whispered back.

The two both jerked their heads towards the door when a dull applaud broke their silence. Azula stood there, leaning on the doorframe, an evil smirk playing across her face.

"Well, I guess my number of traitors just doubled." she sneered, walking forward to glare down at Mai.

Mai stood up, her anger boiling over.

"You're the traitor Azula! You always have been!" she cried, while Zuko tried to struggle out of his chains.

"Really? Is that what you've thought about me?" Azula replied in a bored tone.

Mai nodded, feeling a new strength wash over her.

"I always knew you two would get together. But of course, that would make dumb-dumb happy, and we simply cannot allow that..."

Before Mai could even remove a weapon to fight her with, Azula's foot slammed into her temple, rendering her unconscious.

"Mai!" Zuko cried, wincing as he tried to pull his arms out of the shackles that bonded him to the wall, all the while watching as the puddle of blood under her head spread.

"Oh, don't worry dear brother, I'll take excellent care of her." Azula smirked, bending down to grab Mai's collar and proceeding to drag her out of the cell.

Zuko continued to fight, wanting nothing more than to kill Azula, to make her pay for all the horrible things she'd done.

He heard her footsteps as she left the prison hold and the iron door slammed shut behind her.

* * *

Zuko felt his heart break when, after he'd asked a guard where Mai was, was informed that she had been executed for treason. For the remainder of his time on the ship he vowed himself to silence, feeling the guilt wash over him day after day.

And only then did he realize that those few precious moments he'd spent with her were the best he'd ever have.

_So you sailed away_

_Into a gray sky morning_

_Now I'm here to stay_

_Love can be so boring_

_And nothing's quite the same now_

_I just say your name now_

_But it's not so bad_

_You're only the best I ever had_

Exert from "Best I Ever Had"

By Gary Allan

* * *

I don't know why, but I think Zuko/Mai are a really good couple. Please read n' review and tell me what you thought!

-DaBiscuit


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